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The
nature monument Demänovská caves is the longest cave system in  Slovakia.It is
situated in the national nature reserve Demänovská
valley in the territory of the Low Tatras national park. The system
represents a unique instance of cave levels development by a ponor water
flow in the fluvio-karst valley in the mid-mountain location of the
Western Carpathian. Moreover, its natural merits are enhanced by a rich
flowstone filling of various shapes, as well as the ice filling of the
Demänovska ice cave is also important from the historical point of view.
From the vast underground places , the public has acces to a part of the
Demanovska cave of Liberty and Demanovska ice cave.
The Demanovska valley is located on the
northern slopes of the Low Tatras, southerly from Liptovsky Mikulas. It
was created by the Demanovka river and its tributaries springing under the
main crest of of the Low Tatras in the extent of Krupová hola /1927 m/,
Chopok /2023 m/, Derese /2003 m/, and Polana /1889 m/. From that border,
the valley spreads 10 km to the north and falls into the Liptovska basin
at elevation of 705 m. The valley covers an area of 44 square kilometers.
WE OFFERS TO YOU SPELLUNGGING
IN PUBLIC INACESSIBLE CAVES
THE DEMÄNOVSKÁ CAVE OF LIBERTY
Entrance to the caves is
in the Tociste valley at elevation 870 m. You can access it by zigzag
foothpath leading from the parking lot, where a height difference of 52 m
must be got over. The cave is
created in middle Triasic dark gray Guttenstein limestones of Kriznansky
nappe, along tectonic faults by former flow of Demanovka and its lateral
hanging ponor tributaries. It represents morphologicaly the most varied
part of the Demanovsky cave system. The cave length is more than 8400 m,
7624 m of the cave were measured. Out of the rich flowstone filling,
flowstone water lilies and other lacustrine forms / sponge, coral, grape /
as well as eccentric stalactites are unique. Mighty flowstone waterfalls
and columns, sphaerolithical stalactites and many other forms of
stalactites and stalagmites are captivating. There is a thick onflow of
white soft flowstone in the Great dome. Underground flow of Demanovka
flows through the cave and gets to the surface by the Vyvieranie cave,
northerly of the Demanovska cave of Liberty. Air temperature is 6.1 ` to
7.0 ` Celsius, relative huminidy 94 to 99 %.
Bones of the cave bear / Ursus spelaeus /
were found in the Medvedia passage. Four bat species were found by now, in
recent years large mouse-eared bat / Myotis myotis / and lesser horshoe
bat / Rhinnolophus hipposideros /.
The
cave was discovered by A. Kral with help of A. Misura and other surveyors
through the dry and lowest ponor of Demanovka river in 1921. Recovery
speleo-climatic stays take place in the cave since 1993. The length of
operated accessible pathway is 1800 m. Elevation range between entrance
and Prizemie is 66 m, between Prizemie and exit is 85 m. Pathway are 1145
m and 2150 m long.
| THE DEMÄNOVSKÁ CAVE OF
LIBERTY |
| OPEN |
| Tuesday - Sunday |
| 15.XII - 31.V a 16.IX - 15.XI |
at 0900, 1100, 1230,
1400 |
| 1.VI - 15.IX |
open every hour from 0900- 1600 |
| closed |
1.I, 16.XI - 14.XII, 24.XII - 26.XII |
| phone/fax |
+421/ 44 / 5591 673 |
THE DEMÄNOVSKÁ ICE CAVE
Entrance to the cave is
in the Basta cliff, where you can climb by a zigzag trail from the Kamenna
cottage. The entrance lies in elevetion 840 m, about 90 m above the bottom
of the valley. There is an educational path installed along the access
trail. The cave is created in middle Triasic Gutenstein limestones of
Kriznansky nappe, along the tectonic faults, by a past ponor flow of
Demanovka. It represents the northern, bygone spring part of the
Demanovsky cave system. The cave length is 1750 m.  The cave species,
in three development levels, consists of oval river modeled passages and
dome spaces formed by collasping and frost weathering. Ice filling occurs
in the lower part of the cave, mainly in the Kmetov dome. The cave descend
from the entrance 40 to 50 m deep. There is floor ice, ice columns,
stalactites and stalagmites. The conditions for icing began after natural
breakdown of several openings to the surface in onsequence to slope
modeling processes, by what the air replacement was reduced. The original
filling was preserved in several cave spaces. The air temperature in
glacier parts is around 0` Celsius and towards the back parts without
glacier it rises from 1.3 to 5.7 `Celsius. Relative humidity is between 92
and 98 %. The cave is a stale finding place of various vertebrates` bones,
including cave bear / Ursus speleaus /, which were erroneously taken for
dragon bones in the first half of 18th century. Seven bat species were
observed in the cave by now. Dominating bat is Eptesicus nilssoni.
The first written mention on the caves in
Demanovska valley dates back to the Estergon chapter in 1299. At present,
650 m with elevation range of 48 m is open to public. The length of the
pathway is 850 m.
| THE DEMÄNOVSKÁ ICE CAVE |
| OPEN |
| Tuesday - Sunday |
| 15.V - 31.V a 1.IX - 30.IX |
at 0900, 1100, 1230,
1400 |
| 1.VI - 31.VIII |
every hour at 0900- 1600 |
| phone |
+421 / 44 / 554 8170 |
THE VAŽECKÁ CAVE
Vazecka cave is national nature
monument. Is situated in the Vazecky Karst, at the meeting of Kozie vrchy
/Goat Rangers/ with Liptovska basin, at the western border of Vazec. The
length of cave is 530 m. It is important finding-place of cave bear /
Ursus spelaeus / bones. The entrance hall was lomg know to the local
people.
The continuation of cave spaces
was discovered in 1922. The cave was open to the public in 1934. After
reconstruction in 1954, 235 m have been open to the public.
| THE VAŽECKÁ CAVE |
| OPEN |
| Tuesday - Sunday |
| 1.II - 14.V a 16.IX - 30.XI |
at 1000, 1100, 1230,
1400 |
| 15.V - 15.IX |
every hour from 0900- 1600 |
| closed |
1.XII - 31.I |
| phone |
+421 / 44 / 5294 171 |
main page | maps
Slovak caves Administration
Hodžova 11
031 01
Liptovský Mikuláš
Slovak Republic
Tel.: +421 / 44 / 5536 411
Fax.: +421 / 44 / 5536 311
E-mail:
caves@ssj.sk
http://www.ssj.sk/ - more slovak
caves |